


everything starts at your skin

by littleblacksubmarine



Category: Law & Order: SVU
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Insomnia, M/M, Oral Sex, Rimming
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-11
Updated: 2019-11-11
Packaged: 2021-01-29 00:11:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,522
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21400954
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littleblacksubmarine/pseuds/littleblacksubmarine
Summary: Sonny sleeps. Rafael doesn't.
Relationships: Rafael Barba/Dominick "Sonny" Carisi Jr.
Comments: 4
Kudos: 96





	everything starts at your skin

Despite - or perhaps because of - the dozen or so stressors prickling at him every day, Sonny Carisi slept like the dead. He had never met a movie compelling enough to keep him awake on the couch as the sunset licked in over Manhattan and through the blinds. He was prone to dozing off in a chair after a particularly large meal, like someone's late-middle aged father parked in front of a football game. It wasn't unusual to find him sprawled out facedown in the middle of a still-made bed with all of his clothes on after a long day at work, dead to the world and without a care in it.

Sometimes Rafael envied him so much he could taste it.

Long days on the streets and long nights chipping away at his law degree had pounded every last molecule of energy out of Sonny for years, and even with its recent completion and the end of studying for the Bar hadn't directed his sleeping habits back to that of a normal person, even after he began his job search. He'd been asleep in Rafael's bedroom since half past nine, and had scarcely made a sound in the following five hours except to flop gracelessly over onto his other side midway through.

For his own part, Rafael was prone to sleepless nights, bouts of insomnia where he would lay in bed, eyes fixed blearily on the ceiling and counting each inward breath and rise of his belly, hopeful that each of them would be the last he spent conscious for the next few hours.

Tonight, he hadn't even bothered, instead remaining on the sofa with a few file folders strung around him and a now-empty tumbler of what had once been wine gone forgotten on the end table. The television was a quiet drone of a late night infomercial, on simply as background noise even though it wouldn't have disturbed Sonny at its typical volume. Rafael's brow was furrowed, and he rubbed at one temple as though it might program his brain into a suitable level of tiredness.

Even on nights he lay awake nearly until the sun began to peek over the skyline, it was still preferable to have Sonny in bed beside him, or even in the next room, rather than across town in his own apartment that became less and less practical to retain. It seemed a line too far to cross just yet, and neither of them spoke of it except when Sonny would occasionally scoff, _train was a pain the ass today, Christ_ after shuttling from his own apartment to Rafael's. For now, it was enough and comfortable.

There was a brushing shuffle behind him, and for a moment Rafael startled on the couch. He turned his head, looking over one shoulder to find Sonny rumpled and with a wrinkled cheek from where it had been pressed into a pillowcase. His chest warmed with fondness.

"Still up?" Sonny asked, voice roughened around the edges from sleep. His hair was in disarray, freed from its typical product after the hottest shower he could muster up after work.

"Clearly," Rafael groused, but there was no bite to it.

  
" - time is it?" Sonny asked, scratching his belly and chest underneath the thin white layer of his t-shirt. It rode up a little in the process, exposing where his sweatpants had gone slung lower over his hips as he slept.

"Late. Early. Somewhere in between," Rafael asked, putting one of the files on the coffee table with the others, and laying a long-forgotten highlighter on top of the pile for good measure. He mustered up a tight smile.

" 's Friday night. No court tomorrow," Sonny mumbled, taking a seat beside Rafael and leaning into his personal space, as though he would've had any objection to it. "Not the worst night to be up late. Or early." It felt good to have an attempt at comfort directed toward him, and Rafael returned Sonny's tired smile that was undoubtedly pressed against Rafael's shoulder where Sonny had rested his head.

"I suppose not, if it weren't the second day in a row." _Third_, really, though he'd shaved off the extra day in an effort to keep Sonny from fussing over him any more than he knew he was already edging dangerously close to with every late hour into the night.

"Poor thing," Sonny mused, still not raising his head to make eye contact, and for a moment Rafael entertained the idea that Sonny might be in the process of very compassionate sleepwalking. "Could've been in your bedroom in bed with me."

The statement - though certainly not provocative on its surface - made Rafael scoff in an effort to offset the momentary, stirring jolt in his groin as his mind wove suggestion into the remark.

"With your snoring for the last five hours?" he mused teasingly, letting one arm drift around Sonny to pull him in closer. "And miss out on all the leftovers you were too tired to eat, and the opportunity to watch whatever I wanted on TV without you complaining about it?"

"Not my fault that you make the worst choices," Sonny remarked. He kissed Rafael's cheek as though in apology, even as he continued, "Your cooking shows are so _boring_. The hosts don't even scream at them or nothing." He sighed as one of Rafael's hands slid up his back, carding through the now-dry hair at the back of his skull.

Rafael rolled his eyes even as he warmly kissed Sonny's cheek. "That kind of television will rot your brain, Carisi," he warned, but he grew distractible as Sonny's lips brushed at the front of his throat. He hadn't expected Sonny to so much as acknowledge him for the rest of the night, knowing full well that once Sonny had abruptly fallen asleep that he would probably not wake until Rafael shook him by the shoulder the next morning. The feeling of Sonny's hands and now his mouth on him had Rafael stirring, even when he felt depleted of all energy but unable to rest.

"Let it," Sonny countered, though they'd both lost interest in the late-night attempt at banter and bickering as he slid his hands up Rafael's sides beneath the fabric of his pajama shirt. Rafael sighed and turned his hips towards Sonny, suddenly desperate to increase their contact. The wine had long dissipated, leaving him sober enough that the heat moving through his veins could only be attributed to the feel of Sonny's skin against him.

"Sonny - " he tried, but spoke no further when Sonny brushed his mouth against Rafael's. Rafael could taste sleep in his mouth, but pressed more insistently against him as he savored the underlying taste of _Sonny_ \- Sonny who took up more than half of the bed, who spit toothpaste in the sink and didn't rinse it out, who loved him fiercely and with abandon even when Rafael had to pretend to be annoyed by it. Sonny sighed against his mouth, brushing his nails languidly over Rafael's ribs.

"Let me," Sonny urged. "Let me tire you out." Normally, they would have both snorted at the transparent attempt at seduction, but Sonny was still half-awake, and Rafael was too consumed by both lust and tiredness to offer a fight. "Let me help."

He didn't wait for a response, knowing too well that he wouldn't need one, and instead set to helping to free Rafael from his shirt. He smiled, finding Rafael now half-bared underneath him as he coaxed him down to his back on the couch. Sonny gently kissed him, carding his fingers through Rafael's chest hair to his belly and then back up after stopping just above the waistband of his pants.

"You work so hard," Sonny mused quietly, kissing him lightly before letting his lips slide open to tease his tongue along Rafael's. It seemed paradoxical to hear it from Sonny. Rafael knew how many days Sonny came home late in the night from work, whether it was to his own apartment or to Rafael's, sometimes covered in bruises or scrapes or simply the weight of too many horrible stories to bring into one's home.

It made his chest ache to think of the way Sonny's face could still crack open into a smile when their eyes first met at the end of any such long day. He kissed Sonny harder, groaning quietly into his mouth as Sonny stopped hesitating, sliding one hand beneath the waistband of Rafael's pajamas. Rafael's groan got louder as Sonny pumped his cock slowly, teasing him to full hardness.

"Let me take care of you," Sonny urged, watching in satisfaction as Rafael allowed his legs to drift wider open. "You deserve a break sometimes, I promise." Sonny pushed his pajama pants lower, encouraging Rafael to lift his hips up to pull them down entirely even as Sonny remained fully clothed. "That's right. Jesus Christ, look at you." He smiled again. "You're worth getting out of bed for, I can tell you that."

Rafael didn't dare make a sound, and instead leaned up on his elbows to resume the kiss. Sonny made no effort to take his own clothes off, even if he could see the way that the front of his sweats had tented visibly. Sonny swallowed the rough sigh that Rafael offered as his strokes hastened, and Rafael could feel him smile again as he stroked the inside of Rafael's thigh with his free hand. He slid his thumb in a wide, slow circle at the tip of Rafael's cock, gathering the slick there before pulling away to lap it off of the pad of his thumb.

"You're trying to kill me," Rafael gasped, slightly embarrassed at the already-desperate sound of his own voice, louder than the forgotten infomercial still droning on the television. He squeezed his eyes closed, unable to hold himself together if he kept watching Sonny licking the taste of him off his own fingers.

"Can I taste you?" Sonny asked, ignoring the broken tone in his voice.

He nodded, lying as still as possible despite every urge to buck up into Sonny's grip as they kissed again. Sonny was hot against him where he was pinned on the sofa, the shape of him unmistakable through the sweatpants, though Sonny made no request for Rafael to touch him other than allowing himself to rut against Rafael's hip.

It was outside of his comfort not to reciprocate, but his limbs felt heavy with the weight of more than one night with few hours of sleep and a heavy day's work following it. Rafael smiled, drowsiness gone by the wayside as Sonny absently arranged the hair at Rafael's temple before coaxing his legs wider to adjust and settle down between their splay.

"God," he exhaled, feeling Sonny's warm breath before the brush of lips at his lower belly. Sonny's hands were at his hips, holding him steady and drawing idle circles on either side. Sonny kissed the tip of his cock, near reverence, and let his tongue slide through the mess of fluid beading there. Rafael could feel his thighs tremble and willed himself to stay still.

"Yeah?" Sonny asked, clearly proud of his efforts to coax Rafael outside the bounds of control. Rafael made a mental note to scold him for his cockiness later - maybe tomorrow, when his brain was less scrambled by the desperate need for sleep or the feel of Sonny's mouth around him. Instead, for now, he nodded again, letting out a choked moan when Sonny took him into his mouth with a small, contented hum.

It had been longer than he'd like since the last time he and Sonny had had enough time for Sonny to suck him into the wet cavern of his mouth, or to use his hands, or to do much for than tiredly kiss the back of Rafael's neck, holding him close and drifting off to sleep. The feeling made Rafael's hips jolt upward, and he worried he'd choke Sonny. Instead, Sonny simply moaned encouragingly around the length of him.

He grasped Sonny tightly by the hair, taken aback by the feel of his mouth. This only served to startle him further, and he abruptly let go.

"I'm sorry," he panted, feeling guilty when Sonny didn't pull away at first despite the rough treatment.

Sonny smiled up at him, looking disheveled from between Rafael's legs, and the sight of it only made him burn hotter.

"You can do whatever you want tonight," he said, smiling as though his mouth wasn't reddened by kisses and ready to be used further. "I promise." He returned to his work, coaxing Rafael's hand back up to card his fingers through Sonny's hair. Rafael squeezed his eyes shut, almost unable to bear watching.

"_Fuck_," Rafael blurted out, feeling Sonny's hand slide up his thigh to gently roll his balls in the palm of one hand, to rub at their undersides with his thumb. "You're so - " he began accusingly, wanting Sonny to know just how sinful it felt to allow Sonny to take him apart this way, but it died on his tongue as Sonny sucked him still-deeper. He knew this would do nothing to dampen Sonny's cockiness, but by now it was futile.

He forced himself to open his eyes again, panting sharply, and found Sonny had slid his free hand beneath his sweats to play with himself. His strokes were more patient than Rafael would've thought Sonny Carisi capable of, clearly intent on drawing it on, on not losing himself until he could wreck Rafael first.

Sonny's mouth was so hot around him, lips plush and reddened around him, and the sight made him shudder. After several long, sloppy passes of his lips and tongue, Sonny pulled away. Rafael huffed in protest, annoyed and lifting his hips as though to seek out Sonny's mouth again.

"Ah, ah," Sonny chided, taking advantage of the movement of Rafael's hips to adjust him ever so slightly, pinning him the way he wanted him arranged. His lean, lanky frame often made Rafael forget the strength Sonny had needed to hone to wrangle someone resisting or thrashing as he tried to handcuff him or her, and the thought of it made him feel weakened with arousal. "Let me."

Now he found himself newly exposed beneath Sonny, who laced their fingers together momentarily, kissing Rafael almost chastely on the mouth before returning between his legs. Rafael shivered, knowing Sonny was now intent on furthering his exploration. Sonny kissed down the inside of one thigh, guiding their intertwined hands down to instruct Rafael to touch himself.

"That's good," he encouraged.

"Please," Rafael said, voice ragged in a way that made him feel humbled as Sonny took him apart with an apparent effortlessness.

He felt the first teasing touch of Sonny's mouth against his hole, a kiss that was also chaste here before it devolved into something filthier - an openmouthed kiss that left him glistening. Rafael let out a shaky moan, one that deepened in his chest as Sonny licked a slow, wet circle around his entrance.

It had been longer still since they'd done it this way, since the last time Rafael allowed his control to slip and to allow Sonny to take him this way. Usually Sonny preferred to be held down and licked open, starfished in the center of the bed with the sheets rumpled around him like a snowfield, but to be on the receiving end made Rafael suddenly aware of how close he already was.

"Oh, god," Rafael panted, feeling Sonny's spittle building in the crease of his ass. He could hear the slow, slick sounds of Sonny's tongue, and it made him pump himself faster still with a grip that felt rougher than Sonny might typically use on him. He opened his eyes in time to watch the tip of Sonny's tongue slowly pushing inside of him as he touched himself below his sweatpants, and Rafael cried out. He knotted his fingers in Sonny's hair again, pulling with an uncharacteristic roughness and unable to help himself now that he'd been given permission.

"Good," Sonny soothed, voice hot and slightly muffled, and he thumbed gently in the crease of Rafael's ass to tease the wetness there before returning to slow, patient licks. "That's good."

Sonny pressed in again with his tongue, more insistent now as he lapped, and he moaned a little louder despite his mouth being occupied all the same. Rafael could see a small wet patch forming at the front of Sonny's sweatpants, clearly mussed by Sonny's leaking cock, and it lessened his guilt about simply lying back and taking what was offered.

His toes were curling in the abandoned throw blanket Sonny sat on, and his thighs had resumed trembling on either side of Sonny's shoulders. Sonny sucked harder at the rim of his hole, teasing him gently before pressing back inside. The heat was almost too much now, and he brought his unoccupied hand up to bite down on his knuckles to suppress the needy sounds escaping him, though he knew that Sonny had been savoring them.

"You're so fucking hot, Counselor," Sonny huffed, breaking away from him only momentarily to breathe out what they'd adopted as a silly endearment months ago that somehow felt overwhelmingly intimate here on the flat of his back with his energy depleting even more rapidly. Rafael let out a gasp around his knuckles as Sonny lightly rubbed his hole with the pad of his thumb, unsure whether he wanted to push back against the finger or Sonny's mouth.

"I'm close," he blurted, priding himself a little on keeping a stammer out of his voice. Sonny made no move to speak and only gripped at the meat of Rafael's ass to pull him closer, even if it meant Rafael's leg drifted back around behind his head. "Fuck, fuck - "

His voice was lost to the sensation and instead he cried out wordlessly, coming in thick spurts over his frantically moving fist. All of his bones seemed to leave him abruptly, and he slumped back against the couch cushions as Sonny reared up and finally pushed down his own sleep pants, coming across the soft swell of Rafael's belly. Sonny fell slightly forward on one hand, shaking a little and trying to gather his composure, as though he'd ever been better on that front than Rafael.

They laid still for a moment, gathering breath, and Sonny allowed one hand to drift up from Rafael's hip to his pectoral muscle. He lightly stroked at Rafael's pebbled nipple, and he let out a shaky whimper, shying away out of sensitivity. Sonny smiled down at him, instead running his unsoiled hand through Rafael's hair. He leaned forward, pressing their foreheads together before kissing Rafael.

"You're so good," he repeated, arranging Rafael's hair where he'd started to break a sweat. "I love you, Rafi."

Rafael found the part of him that was sometimes cold, and often reserved out of necessity throughout the day, completely stripped from him here, with no need for armor and no desire for it.

"I love you too," he murmured, his fatigue now back at least ten times stronger than before. He could feel Sonny leave him for a moment, returning with a damp, warm rag to clean him. Rafael's eyelids were heavy in a way he'd missed for days, and his head tipped back. Sonny dried him off and redressed him in his pajama pants, clearly ready for bed. Rafael made no effort to move.

"Don't wanna get up?" Sonny asked, though he'd made no move to stand. His own voice was hoarse with tiredness. He remembered to turn the television off, having forgotten all about the infomercial, even if the announcer was insistent that it was a great deal.

Rafael shook his head, eyes closed now. He extended a hand that seemed weighed by led to Sonny, and when he took it, he pulled Sonny down on top of him. His long legs barely fit on the couch, but he sighed happily and pulled the laughably overpriced throw blanket over the two of them as best as possible despite its small size.

"Gonna hurt your back sleeping on the couch," Sonny teased dryly, nuzzling his cheek against the bared skin of Rafael's warm chest.

His voice sounded faraway as Rafael could feel himself drifting away. "Can't move, even if I wanted to," he admitted. He could feel Sonny's low chuckle even if he couldn't hear it. " - taking a page out of your sleeping location book." Rafael's voice slurred, and he could sense Sonny's smile as he pressed a dry, slow kiss in the center of Rafael's chest.

"Don't say I never taught you anything," Sonny agreed, lacing their fingers together and somehow making the tangle of their limbs feel perfectly sized for even the most average sized sofa.

There was something to be said for knowing you'd wake up every day next to someone who kept you safe from life and its annoyances. Rafael made a bleary mental note to revisit the idea in the morning.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you all so much for reading! If anyone happens to be familiar with my other writing in this fandom, fluff is definitely outside of my wheelhouse, so hopefully I did the idea some justice! Also special thanks to mforpaul who also encouraged me to step outside of my comfort zone and have Sonny be the one offering care to Rafael this time around - hope I did that idea some justice as well!
> 
> Title of this story is from Vance Joy - Lay it On Me.  
Thank you again for reading!


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